4. Getting Cocky_Aw Cluck

A wave of energy washes over me as I get the status message about leveling up. It feels...pleasant. Like a warm breeze blowing over me on a nice spring day. As it passes over aches and pains I hadn’t even noticed fade away, and the small cuts in my mouth stop hurting as well.

Status

Spoiler: Spoiler

Table:

Status Menu

Name: Grover

Age: 0 years

Race: Rooster (Juvenile)

Level: 2(+1)

XP: 5

XP to next level: 120

Profession: N/A

Seals: 1

HP: 12/12

SP 19/19

Mana: [Locked]

HP Regen: 2/day(+1)

SP Regen: 4/hour(+2)

Mana Regen: [Locked]

Strength - 2(+1) [+]

Agility - 4(+2) [+]

Constitution - 2(+1) [+]

Wisdom - 8 [+]

Intelligence - 10 [+]

Charisma - 4(+1) [+]

Luck - 2

Stat Points - 4

Skills:

Instincts (Chicken)

Chirp

Peck

Basic Appraisal (Lvl:2/10)

Sneak (Lvl: 2/10)

Titles:

Reincarnated

Spiritual Bulwark

Huh. So leveling refilled my HP and SP, and there were a few minor increases to all my stats. It says I’ve got 4 stat points though, and there’s little plusses next to all the scores except the regens and luck. I’ll worry about where to put those a little later though, for now a feast is before me, and I’d have to be a bird-brain not to at least try it while I’ve got the chance.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

I look around the clearing in front of me, and decide that no other danger is present before dragging the mimic corpse into the shelter of the foliage behind me.

Not a pleasant smell. Kind of like a fish that's been sitting in the sun a little too long.

I close my eyes as I use my beak to tear a small amount of flesh from the cracked shell, and tilt my head back slightly to help it go down.

It’s…..surprisingly not that bad. Reminds me of crab a bit, but with a spicy aftertaste. If there were more I definitely wouldn’t mind eating it, but I definitely got lucky with that last one. It basically stood still and let me kill it, and I don’t know if I can rely on that strategy.

As I eat I pull my status back up and contemplate where to assign my points.

If intelligence and wisdom are doing anything for me, I haven’t really noticed it. I’m sure they’re useful, but if it’s life or death I don’t know that I could rely on it. Charisma might be useful if I could talk to anyone, but last I checked I can’t any more. So that leaves agility strength and constitution. If I had to guess strength will make my peck skill stronger since it does use my muscles, and constitution will increase my HP, but I don’t think those should be priorities. Agility sounds like it’s either how fast I run or how quick I can move in general. Maybe a little of both?

I think at the end of the day, the only real option is agility. I’m very small, and I don’t think I can count on being a little extra healthy or being a little physically stronger to keep me alive. The only reason I survived that mimic barreling me down was because I was just barely fast enough to stay ahead of it, and the thing was a baby like me. The most important thing is that I survive, and if I can outrun anything that wants to eat me that seems like my best chance. I didn’t get the chance to really enjoy my last life and I’ll be damned if I die before I find a way to enjoy this one.

With that settled and my impromptu meal finished, I put my 4 free stats into agility and make my way back to my nest. As the roots hiding my unborn brethren just start to come into view, every fiber of my body screams at me to freeze.

crunch crunch

That wasn’t me. Something is making noise inside there. Maybe mama hen came back? Or one of the eggs is hatching? I dismiss my gut feeling and take a step forward.

CRACK

I stepped on a twig. It wasn’t even loud, but in the quiet of the clearing, it’s practically deafening.

Wait.

The quiet?

It wasn’t quiet here earlier. There was the droning buzz of bugs in the brush, birdsong from above, the scratching sounds of small creatures climbing through the canopy.

Why is it so quiet?

I listen to my instincts, but I need to know what’s going on. I carefully sneak forward, watching for anything that would make even the slightest noise.

CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH

The crumpling sound is louder now. I know what I’m going to find, but I’m scared to look. I know I should turn and run, but I’m scared that whatever is chewing inside there will hear me. I step forward.

CRUNCH CRACKLE CRUNCH

Oh. It's a lizard. A lizard, with mottled black and cream skin, and a pure black tongue. A large lizard with claws as long as I am tall. A very large lizard that’s crunching on the eggs that were in my nest.

A lizard that’s looking directly at me.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Table:

Status Menu

Name: Grover

Age: 0 years

Race: Rooster (Juvenile)

Level: 2

XP: 5

XP to next level: 120

Profession: N/A

Seals: 1

HP: 12/12

SP 19/19

Mana: [Locked]

HP Regen: 2/day

SP Regen: 4/hour

Mana Regen: [Locked]

Strength - 2

Agility - 8(+4)

Constitution - 2

Wisdom - 8

Intelligence - 10

Charisma - 4